Reviews by tjkinate:

A: Single finger head, decent retention, creamy off-white color settling to a thin white film. The body itself is deep rusty colored brew that is partly cloudy, but still allowed you to see bubble rising to the top.

T: Did a side by side with Rochefort 10 and Abt 12. I found the Westy to be the winner due to its subtle richness and high level of drinkability. I detected hints of cherry, but much more in the grain and dark fruit department.

More User Reviews:

July 24, 2009: Along with the notes below, the cotton candy/confection/powdered sugar flavor is super clean and full of taste. Ester profile shows more grape flavors than I remember. An immaculate beer fit for it's #1 status.

So, this is the daddy of all daddyies; the penacle of all fermented malty beverages; the beer that carries the biggest kahunas; the most elusive and sought-after beer of all. Can a beer possibly live up to it's legendary status? Yes in fact, it can. A very deep, strong, agressive berry and candied aroma swells from the bottle, even before the pour. The beer pours neatly into the chalice with a rising pillow of foam that brings out more dark berries, dehydrated fruits, and tart, warming alcohols. Very mouth-watering and inviting. That first sip brings a lot of that rich berry flavor (blackberries, cranberries, raspberries, and a hint of grapes) that shines above a seriously malt base. Pecans, almonds, and graham cracker flavors display the malts well. Dehydrated / candied fruits (cherries, pineapples, dates and figs) meld with a sweet rum-like alcohol flavor and makes this beer some of the better flavors ever placed into my mouth. The body shows all of the firm-ness, viscity, and creaminess needed for a perfect-five beer, but the alcohols and berry-vineous flavors slice through it, making it waver just a bit. The berry flavor lingers on and on... I can still taste it from last night. It is easy to see why this beer so easily seduces even the most seasoned beer enthusiest, but I have to ask it to reluctantly step aside of this grand pedistal for its little brother, Westvleteren Dubbel.

Thank you monks. You've inspired me to shave what's left of my hair, buy a brown robe, and learn to chant.

Call it lack of exposure, but I've never been a fan of this style. Westy 12 just changed that. I could tell you about the beautiful color it pours, the massive head it left, the scent of fruits, raisins, carmel, the wonderful mouth feel, the fact that it's not even remotely boozy for a 10% beer. But that's all been said.

There is a reason its commonly referred to as the best beer in the world.

"It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

I had the esteemed pleasure of having this beer on my trip to Belgium; first a one year old version at my friend's house in Ghent, then straight out of the bottle at the abbey when I picked up 48 bottles of blond, then a two year old version at my friend's house. While having the two year old, my friend brought out yet another bottle of the one year old so we could compare them. I figured aged beers were for snobby pretentious little bastards, but I was proven wrong upon tasting the difference betwixt the two. Touche. I didn't actually review the version straight from the abbey, but I've included my reviews of both the one year old and the two year old below. (I know I'm a lucky bastard, for the record.) Obviously, both were from the bottle, served into a proper Westy goblet. I tasted the aged versions in Ghent.

A(1yr): Two finger head of amazing cream and thickness. A dark black colour with an amber bottom. Very appealing. Excellent retention. I let the beer sit for a bit so that it would be the correct temperature; it was fetched from a refrigerator.

A(2yr): Two finger head of lovely cream and thickness. Dark amber colour.

Sm(1yr): Cream. Very subtle spices and esters. Esters are seemingly dominated by raspberry. Some nutty hops. Exquisitely subtle. Balanced. A light strength scent overall, but then me nose is broken.

Sm(2yr): Dark fruit. Cream. Hops. Complex.

T(1yr): Beautiful body of nut, spice, and especially tamed fruit, which bleeds - nay - allows itself into the finish. Perfectly balanced. Fruit hangs on the finish, joined by a symphony of cream. Cream is also present on the open. A perfect injection of bitterness is present just before the climax.

Dr(1yr): I would down this repeatedly if given the chance and budget (and I did, at In Da Vrede). If you have a last meal, this ought to be a candidate for the drink. Makes you close your eyes to savour the taste. Believe the hype; this is the best beer I've had so far. The best retention I've ever seen.

A: Poured into a chalice, the beer produced lots of foam at first but quickly fizzed away allowing the pour to finish - when it was finally poured fully (minus the yeast) it was a finger and a half tall made of mid sized bubbles with a tan color. It continually bubbled up from the bottom creating pockets of foam, but the retention was low. The beer has a dark brown, leather like appearance with moderate haze, hints of auburn show as it is held to a light source.

S: Mild to medium aroma with prunes, plums, figs, red grapes. Also getting a fresh yeasty character, not traditional belgian yeast but more like bread yeast. Toast and melenoidin bread crust aromas are at the threshold levels and a spicey note that could be coming from hops or yeast phenols.

T: Huge flavor.. Tons of those dark fruit flavors - dates, prunes, figs, with a big base of bread crust, biscuits and toast. Tobacco, melenoidins, burnt sugar, slight vanilla and dark cherries also coming through at different rates. The sweetness is kept to a low level with the big spicey hop bitterness and flavor giving an earthy undertone and the yeasty character i pickup gives a surprising lager like cleanness. The phenols are kept to a minimum and there is only a hint of ethanol in the flavor (at this early age).

M: A creamy mouthfeel that gives way to a moderately high carbonation bite. There is a tingly sensation on the palette that reminds me of a bourbon barrel aged beer. Moderate body with a high amount of alcohol warming.

O: There are no short of reviews for this beer and chances are this won’t convince you to try or not try this beer, however if you can get the beer without too much trouble - get it. Not nearly as alcohol forward as I’ve heard and I wasn’t prepared for the yeasty bread flavor that made this very interesting and more drinkable. I’ll be curious to see how my other bottles age.

And the lady rose from the wood, as the archers tromped through the dales in seek of the fountain of perfection. The craft had been whiling away the years for the better part of a century. Settled royally atop her mount, she directed the footsoldiers as they traipsed through the underbrush, brandishing their pikes and longswords against the inhuman foe of the dark wood. Occasional copses and dales provided much-needed relief from the dense thickets that made up the majority of the wooded landscape. Atop the mountain they had seen afar their destination, and the lady would not rest until they had inhaled the aromatic glory and tasted the nectar of liquid perfection. The going was hard through the wood, and the clearing came none too soon, but they had arrived. A friar greeted them warmly, welcoming them to the humble monastery in which was conceived one of the greatest treasures on earth. Apart from the Bible and his countless hours of prayer, one passion consumed him. The same passion which had consumed so many of his forefathers and would yet become a passion for thousands of years to come. He had created one of the marvels of the then-modern world, the perfect combination of hops, malt, pure water, and yeast.
The appearance was brown, with a crown of light tan head which would cling to the ridge of the goblet of whomever had the pleasure of enjoying it. The lady was taken aback by the complexity of the aromas, contrasted with the dank odour of the stone corridors in the bowels of the monastery. The flavour was rapturous. rich, complex flavours of dark fruits, the yeast lending a spicy character and the alcohol rounding out the drink with a warmth and intensity that she had not experienced before. She let out a deep sigh. She could die content now, as she held in her hands what her heart had so longed for.

The time has finally come to put a splash of beer in my BA mug and what better beer than Westvleteren 12? I've had two of these in my cellar for about six months now and have been saving them for a special occasion. Something tells me that the contents have held up just fine. 'Best by' date on the yellow cap is 01.07.06.

The pour generates the typically massive Belgian head and I can see small chunks entering my chalice when the bottle is about 2/3 empty. Extremely murky chestnut brown; the beer looks like strong, unfiltered apple cider. The ecru colored cap has barely fallen in the three minutes since the pour. I'm expecting a huge amount of Belgian lace, but it hasn't yet had the chance to form since the head is so obstinate.

The aroma is more subdued than expected, but to be fair, I'm trying to assess it through a still thick cap of foam. What I do appreciate is brown malty, fruity and toasted nutty. I also pick up whiffs of Belgian yeast and alcohol.

The flavor profile is complex to say the least. It's comprised of loads of caramel malt, molasses, licorice, and dark, dried fruits (raisins, dates and prunes). Candied pecans and modestly funky yeast make appearances, as does the aforementioned alcohol. There are also darker contributors such as coffee and chocolate. Simply an amazing collection of seemingly unlimited flavors. The mouthfeel is big and firm, chewy even, but stops short of full or heavy.

Westvleteren 12 is world-class, no doubt about it. I can appreciate this beer (I think), I respect this beer, I even like this beer a lot. I just don't love this beer. Call me a hophead, call me an unrefined simpleton, call me what you will, but that's how I feel at this juncture in my journey. That doesn't mean that Westvleteren 12 is anything less than incredible. Everyone should have the chance to sample it at least once.

T: Like the nose, there are notes of dark fruits like figs and plums, dark roasted and toasted candy, Belgian yeast, spice, clove, hint of banana, finish is dry with more dark fruits lingering in the aftertaste, very tasty, drinkable.

M: Full bodied with lots of carbonation, semi-dry finish, very smooth and creamy.

O: A world class beer, full of flavor, nice mouthfeel, lots of aroma, definitely worth the money I paid to get it. This is an amazing beer, I can't believe how drinkable it is for 10.2 % ABV, I won't hesitate to place another order for this beer.

To honor NASA discovering the TRAPPIST-1 star system, I'm finally breaking open the bottle I got at the local shop last year. I have to say, everything about this beer is a surprise, from the texture to the flavor. It pours clear dark brown with receding head, no lacing, and clumps of heavy sediment towards the end of the pour.

Smell is sweet toffee candy, red apples, dark cherries, cola; sweet and interesting. Taste is where it gets really weird though. Starts off quite sweet, but gets shockingly bitter and dry by the end. Burnt toffee and spice dominate the front end, with fairly strong alcoholic roughness and clove-like numbing feeling on the tongue. This is one that must be sipped slowly or palate fatigue will do you in, and fast. A strange Dr. Pepper-like medicinality threatens to make this one cloyingly sweet, but then a bitterness sets in and all of a sudden, you're dealing with burnt malts, dry, strong boozy flavors that give the lingering finish more of a sharp, acidic, spicy yeast quality than a sweet, rounder one. I can't say this is a particularly balanced beer, and nor does it want to be. It hits hard and strong in each direction it pulls.

The strangest thing about this beer is the carbonation, which, with it's disappearing head, is between soda and champagne, and less like beer. It certainly brings up those belches! Overall, I can't say this lives up to the hype of former "best beer ever, anywhere." It just doesn't quite complement itself well in the flavors it most strongly forces. That said, every sip was interesting, pleasurable, and I don't regret the slightly exorbitant price I paid to get it locally. It may not be my favorite, but it's deserving of it's place as a legend.

330ml bottle, with labels signifying its US import status, shared with a bunch of BAs at a birthday tasting last night, 6/15/2013.

Aroma: I was really wowed by the nose on this beer. Super pungent, sweet dark fruits- figs, raisins along with a little bit of blueberry sweetness. There is quite a bit of Belgian yeastiness that I've come to associate with dubbels and quads- really complements the sweetness very well with its spiciness. Smells incredibly delicious, quite sweet, and keeps getting better as it warms up. (4.5)

Colour: Dark brown, not quite black but more like a mahogany brown. Pours a thick (a bit thinner than super thick and viscous) body. Its not quite motor oil but this is quite viscous. The head is a 1cm white, perhaps slightly tan, head that becomes a somewhat thick film on the beer. Looks delicious, like a dessert. (4.5)

Flavour: It was an incredible beer. A tasty melange of Belgian spiciness of cloves, maple syrup, figs, raisins, blueberries, and caramel. The yeast and hops mellows out the sweet malt. I think that compared to some of the other quads I've had, this puts together a great bit of flavours high in complexity that is incredibly mellow and pleasing to drink. (4.75)

Mouthfeel: Thick bodied, very viscous and incredibly chewy. Carbonation was solid, nothing special. Aftertaste is the spiciness of the yeast, which was incredible. Smooth and incredibly easy to drink! It's too bad there's only 33cl of this beer in a bottle. (4.5)

Overall: Incredible quad, one of the best beers I have ever had. I thought it was all hype and came in with a jaundiced eye, but this one really blew me away, which was an incredibly nice surprise. It's not that the specific flavours in this beer were especially great compared to other quads that I've had, but it all came together incredibly well. I think that's the difference between this beer and all the others. (4.75)

Super huge thanks to Prufrock for the opportunity to try this one. Poured a third of the bottle to get three fingers of dark tan head over a gorgeous clear red red-brown liquid. Smells musty, yeasty, banana, pineapple, lightly anise and plum, hint of alcohol. Smells a little bit like some indoor public swimming pools. Dried hay, vanilla, flatly of raisins, some brown sugar. Not to the nose, but wafting up from the glass I get belgian candi-sugar.

Tastes, hmmm...chocolate with oodles more flavors and the beer develops into a rich deep wet chocolate like premium cake. Whoa, man, this beer is so damned tasty I'm having a hard time picking out flavors. So many, so rich vibrant, so complex, and well balanced. It's perposterous that something can taste this wonderful. Light fruity esters tamed by darker dry brooding malts. Alcohol sting is clean and mild and comes across as peppery. Phenolic funk is on the stage singing, but is just a voice in the choir. Brown sugar, some candi-sugar, amaretto, nutty. Vanilla keeps the dry finish in check. All this time I've been comtemplating a flavor that I couldn't put my finger on. But now I think I got it. Blueberry raisin bagel from a high quality bakery. Not a bite out of the bagel, but like you've scraped the soft dough out and are sucking on a piece of the toasty crust. Deliciously flavorful with a mild sweet seeping out as the amylases in your mouth break down the bread. Near the end of the glass the dry finish is becoming a bit woody. One more of these beers would likely be enough.

For a long time I've been wanting to review this beer so I could criticise 'the masses' for buying into all the hype. But I must say, this is the most amazing beer I've ever tasted in my life. Perhaps the most enjoyable treat of any sort I've ever tasted in my life. Too bad about the large head, this beer had a perfect score locked up for sure. Md-thick mouthfeel and modest carbonation. Creamy smooth body. I could drink this stuff forever.

Beer tasted in a parallel comparison with Rochefort 10.
The colour is the same dark brown (monk's habit). The head is huge, tan, with persistent lace on the glass. The smell is more wide and variegated, with point of floral well delineated. White grape. The taste is delicate, creamy, velveted and soft, with continuity in the sweet. Finish more bitter, but not too bitter. The body is full, round, persistent and durable, for a very long time. The aftertaste is also persistent.
Can I have another one?
"Gianni, sono ottimista!"

I love this beer. i drive to the brewery/monastery every chance I get to drink and pick up a few. Unfortunately that's like once a year or two. Last time I was there I was talking with an older gentleman who said he lived close by. As we were talking, a large fly dove into his 12. He calmly took the fly out with a spoon, let it dry on the table, and continued to enjoy the beer --- "Can't let it go to waste." Even the fly eventually shook itself off and flew away...

This beer is hard to get. You can get it only at the monastery, and even then you have to make reservations ahead of time. But even if you don't have a reservation, go by and have some at the cafe next to the monastery. If you're lucky, you can pick up a gift pack with a few bottles of 12 or sometimes even a six pack in the small shop.

Bottle from the cellar, marked 27-03-15. Dark reddish root beer brown with five fingers of sudsy beige foam. Rich sweet nose: Milk chocolate, sultanas, rum toffee, faint clove, banana chips, strawberry, subdued grassy hops. The aroma does live up to the hype. And the taste? I do understand the comparisons with St. Bernardus Abt 12 (allegedly these beers are the same recipe, different yeast strain). A supremely well-integrated combination of toffee/candy sugar, carob, molasses, cooked fruit (pears and mixed berries), clove-like phenols, licorice, grapes, root beer extract, ginger, plum liquor ... Heady alcohol bloom is the icing on the cake. Although the initial sips are sharply medicinal and boozy, the beer mellows in the glass and on the palate such that the great nuances shine though. Curiously dry and "drinkable" with a lighter than expected body and rather prickly mouthfeel. Some floral hops poke out in the otherwise cacao-like malty finish. Red berry and currant flavors are lingering long after my glass is empty. "Best beer in the world" is not a debate that can ever truly be resolved but this is certainly worthy of the accolades bestowed. Maybe the rarity factor used to play a role here ... With improved availability will the hype wither a bit? Not sure it matters. Worthy of its place in the Trappist pantheon.

In order to properly rate this beer, one must also consider the journey that is required to enjoy this brew at its home in Westvleteren, Belgium. The fruity, complex taste is complemented by the atmosphere of enjoying this in the hop fields of western Belgium. I highly recommend taking the trip to Westvleteren in order to enjoy one of the best beers that I have ever had the privilege of tasting. It is truly a pilgrimage that should be taken by every serious beer lover.

Pours a deep brown with noticeable suspended solids, with a thin light tan head that recedes into a thin presence just around the rim, and some islands on the surface. Smells of fig clove, champagne, banana, and sweet sticky buns. Taste follows with a hint of alcohol presence to cap it off. Feel is smooth, somewhat light, well carbonated with a big alcohol warmth especially as it warmed. Overall, it doesn't get much better than this for a Belgian quad. Cheers!

At long last I was finally able to snag the great Westy 12,pours a deep brown with a suprisingly thin head that was gone pretty quickly not leaving anything behind.Whoa the aromas are just incredibly complex and rich,some almond and raisin almost a cinnamon bun type aroma to it,just awesome.Flavors are more mellow than expected,I get some star anice and raisin up front with some mellow orange tinge in the lngering finish.I like the "12"better than the "8" but I have had some better Quads but still a pleasure to drink for sure.